A blog in reviewal of all those good times had as a child in front of a glowing screen. Whether it be an old Mac, an old PC, Nintendo, or Sega...all brands, genres and skill-levels will be covered in detail. Were you a fan of NBA Jam? How about The Secret of Monkey Island? Or were you more of a Power Pete kind-of-guy?
No matter what your platform, this blog is for you.

Monday, January 25, 2010

A Bit of Obsession: World of Warcraft

HOW MANY BITS, MERCER? 8/8 BITS!

I have a serious problem that seems to occur about as regularly as doctor's appointments do for hypochondriacs. Not only do I have ONE character that I have devoted a solid 3 months to leveling (explained later in post), but I also have 8 others on that realm (a server) and several on another realm. Not only has my life been consumed by this game, but so has that of my boyfriend, one of my bestfriends, and a plethora of friends that I have made through other blogging sites.

So, what makes this game just so addictive? Just take a minute and sit right there, and I'll tell you!

First off, the story that laces the various objectives (Quests) in the game together is outstanding. So, for those of you who desire a strong and in-depth plot to keep you going, this game right here has it. Not only is there a plot for the first installment (World of Warcraft), but there are also wholly separate and fascinating plot turns and twists for both Burning Crusade, and Wrath of the Lich King. Burning Crusade opens up new lands, and quests for players around level 60, and Wrath of the Lich King does the same for players around level 70.

Periodically, Blizzard games has been adding extra expansion packs (Like Burning Crusade, and Wrath of the Lich King) to keep game play exciting for long term players. August of this year Blizzard will be releasing "Cataclysm". This new release will recreate even the most basic leveling areas as a fire and lava strewn waste land. If that's not exciting, I don't know what is.

Another great aspect of the game is the considerable graphics work which went into creating World of Warcraft. The newer graphics are especially noticeable when players move into Burning Crusade. Featured below is a picture of Nagrand, one of the newer areas found in the expansion, in comparison to the graphics featured in lowel lever areas.

Nagrand.

Elwynn Forest.

As you can see, the graphics are exceedingly different, and perhaps even better in the newer releases. But the old, buggy WoW seems to hold a bit of nostalgia for me.

Along with the plot twists, and the beautiful surreal world that characters play in, there are the characters themselves. Players can choose between different races, on either Horde or Alliance, and the class that they are interested in. My poison is a Horde Tauren Druid. This keeps the games possibilities endless. Not only can players perpetually level different characters in different areas of game play, but they also have constantly guaranteed and oncoming expansions and updates, as well as new items that make it so the game is constantly changing. So, all in all, this game gets TWO JOYSTICKS UP!